have you ever imagined (what could have been)
by mellbell12123
Summary: 7 moments Diana and Steve could have shared together after the war (have breakfast, wake up, read the paper, go to work, get married, make some babies, grow old together). And the 1 time they realized they would never get to have them


**Author's notes** : This sounds really depressing but I promise it's gonna be full of fluff until the last chapter…..Also I will definitely be rereading it tomorrow so sorry if there are any typos, I'll fix them tomorrow. Hope you enjoy!

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The war had ended a year ago. Diana had successfully defeated Ares. Steve had successfully taken out the plane full of poison gas, without having to sacrifice himself. The armistice had successfully been signed between the warring countries. And Diana and Steve had been thrust into living a normal life. And it was hard for both of them.

Steve had gotten so used to living within war that he wasn't sure how to live a normal life anymore. He got flashbacks. Loud noises would remind him of the bombs that had landed just feet away from him. Bright lights would remind him of how close he had come to losing Diana in her fight against Ares. Any glimpse of a plane would be a blow to his stomach, as he would be reminded of how close he had come to death.

He had nightmares. Of terrible things he had done. Of terrible things he had seen others do. And of losing the people he loved most dearly. The worst thing he dealt with though was his distrust of others. He had dealt with so many horrific people, on both sides of the war, that it was hard to trust anybody. As he walked down the street, all he saw in the faces of others were targets and enemies.

However, he did have one good thing in his life. Something that always managed to bring him joy. And that was Diana.

Though Diana was able to bring Steve joy, she had her own demons. She felt lost living an unknown lifestyle in an unknown world so far away from home. She had nightmares of all the lives that had been lost. All the lives she hadn't been able to save. All the innocent lives she had sworn to protect.

She had learned how horrible mankind could be. And she had realized how right her family had been. But also how wrong they had been. Because though mankind was filled with darkness, they also radiated light. One couldn't survive without the other. And Diana still had a way to go to fully understand that.

The worst thing she dealt with though was the pain of being separated from her family. Though she knew she had made the right decision, that didn't stop the memories from forcing themselves into her mind. She would be enjoying a walk in the park with Steve, or eating her favorite ice cream when she would be struck with a memory of laughing with Antiope during a training session or listening to her mother in awe as she told her the story of the Gods. But those happy memories came at a cost. She would remember the joy. But then remember that she would never see them again. She would remember the love. But then remember that every single member of her family had lied to her.

It hadn't taken long after the war ended for Diana to feel anger at her mother and everybody else for the lies she had been told. How they had kept the secret of her birth from her. How she was Zeus's daughter. A God. At least part god, that is. She understood every lie they had told her had been to protect her, but it didn't change how betrayed and in the dark she felt. There was so much she didn't know. _So much she would never know_.

As the days went by Diana and Steve learned how to live a normal life. _Together_. Their nightmares became less frequent. Steve's flashbacks subsided and he began to feel more in control of his body. Diana's anger, at her family and her new life, faded as she learned how to pave her own path and create her own future, _her own home_.

Diana and Steve learned to love the little things in life. Walks in the park. Holding hands. Eating lunch together. Dancing together. Playing in the snow. _Just being with each other_.

Their days grew more normal. Steve got a job. Diana got a job. And they began to form a life together. Diana moved into Steve's apartment, finally leaving Etta's, after months of living off of her sofa.

And soon Diana was reminded of her question all those months ago, _what do people do when there are no wars to fight_?

Steve had replied, _have breakfast, wake up, read the paper, go to work, get married, make some babies, grow old together_.

And when she had asked him what it was like, he had answered, _I have no idea_.

One day, years later, Diana turned to him and asked him that same question, and this time he had a different answer. He pulled her close, his arms wrapping tight around her and he pressed a kiss to her forehead before saying, " _I'd imagine it would be something like this_ ".

1\. Have Breakfast

Steve was a decent cook. He couldn't do anything fancy, but he could make a mean omelet.

He had learned how to cook at a young age. His mother used to sit him up on the counter as she made dinner and he would watch in awe as she would take a few separate ingredients and make them into one delicious meal. She taught him tricks over the years and showed him her recipe book of all the recipes that had been passed down from generation to generation. However, everything changed when she died. He was eleven when he lost her. And that was the last time he cooked as a child. He was moved out to a relative's home. And he never saw his mother's recipe book again.

As the years went on and he grew up, he took up cooking again. First, it was just for survival and to save money, but then the war came and cooking was the only thing that was able to make him feel whole again, the memories of cooking with his mother bringing a smile to his face.

After the war ended and life began to settle into something more normal, he taught Diana how to cook. He would put his apron on and show her how to make some easy meals. Diana loved to help Steve make food. But the omelets were her favorite. So he began making them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Soon though, Diana grew sick of eating them and began to experiment with other recipes herself. She would wait for Steve to go to work and would try to create something magnificent. After a while, Steve caught on to her experiments and bought her a recipe book. She made every single thing. Instead of eating everything she would bring them all to their neighbors. They always greeted her with a smile and offered her something in return, but she never accepted. She told them that all she wanted was to see a smile on their faces.

Steve would watch her cook with a smile on his face. He would often join her in the kitchen, jumping up on the counter to sneak a bite of her ingredients but she would always catch him and gently whack him with whatever was in her hand. And he would just sit there smiling, thinking of all the new memories he was building with Diana.

One morning, Steve woke up in bed, the light shining through the window and onto his face. Squinting away from the bright light with a groan, he rolled to the side reaching out searching for Diana, but he came up empty. He sat up glancing around the room, but it was empty. The light was off. The bedroom door closed. The only way Steve knew Diana had been here was the fact that the blankets on her side of the bed were pulled back. He slipped out of bed quickly and went in search of Diana. Before he could call out her name, he heard a loud bang from the kitchen, followed by a light curse.

He wearily followed the sounds and padded into the kitchen finding Diana covered head to toe in flour. She was wearing his apron, which obviously hadn't done much good in keeping her clean. She was humming to herself and dancing around the kitchen with a smile on her face, the spoon she was welding in her hand sending off drops of pancake mix over the floor and walls.

She stopped in front of the stove to pick of the pan and flung it up into the air trying to flip the pancake, but she accidentally underestimated her power and flung the pancake a little too hard causing it to fly up and stick to the ceiling.

Diana let out a small sigh as she looked up. Steve followed her gaze and let out a loud laugh at what he saw.

There had to be at least 4 pancakes stuck to the ceiling.

"I cannot seem to get down the flipping part." Diana said without turning around.

The rest of the morning was spent cleaning off the ceiling, telling Diana that one doesn't usually flip pancakes but that they could try to figure it out, and finally after hours, _eating_.

Diana and Steve sat at their kitchen table eating her non-ceiling pancakes. Diana laughed as Steve cut his into the shape of a dinosaur. Steve's eyes widened as Diana smeared some syrup across his face. And Diana squealed as Steve began to chase her around the apartment with the cup of syrup, ready to drop it on her in retaliation. But when he finally caught her, he instead pulled her into his arms and leaned down to brush his lips against hers. And as she smiled into his kiss, she could taste the syrup on his lips and she knew she was home.


End file.
